President Renu Khator will be inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in October. | Courtesy of UH
Gov. Greg Abbott announced last Thursday that the UH’s president and chancellor will be inducted into the 2016 Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.
Khator is one of the five inductees of the annual award, which selects native or non-native women who have had powerful impacts on their communities and statewide. A panel of judges selects inductees from nominations submitted by Texas residents.
“This honor must be shared with my family members, who have given me such support over the years, and with the University of Houston, which provided me with an opportunity to fulfill my dream of leading a great institution of higher learning,” Khator said.
Besides Khator, her fellow inductees are Susie Hitchcock-Hall, owner of Susie’s South Forty Confections; Ginger Kerrick, division chief of the Flight Operations Directorate Integration Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center; Selena Quintanilla, a Grammy award-winning Latin recording artist who died in 1995 and aviation pioneer Emma Carter Browning, an aviation pioneer who died in 2010.
The 2016 induction ceremony is set for Oct. 21 at the Texas Woman’s University in Denton.
“I am honored to welcome these five extraordinary women into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame,” Abbott said. “Whether in public service, the arts, business or education, these leaders have inspired generations of Texans to reach new heights, achieve new goals and elevate the Lone Star State.”
As the first Indian immigrant to become president of a public research university in the U.S. and the first female chancellor of a Texas higher education system, Khator’s selection is also a recognition of the university’s success.
During her eight-year tenure, UH has reached Tier One status, embarked on new architectural projects such as the completion of the TDECU Stadium and has experienced a significant increase in enrollment rates.
Khator also serves as the American Athletic Conference representative on the NCAA Division 1 Presidential Forum and is chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Board of Directors.
“I am flattered and humbled to be included with these accomplished and remarkable women,” Khator said.
